Going Green? Start with Home Performance Contracting
By Patricia Plympton — DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory — ENERGY STAR & Chandler

“Going Green” is the hot, new trend in home remodeling.  You see it everywhere — at building conferences, home shows, on the news.  You read about it in all the trade magazines.  “Green” remodeling is HOT!  Perhaps you are thinking about joining that trend and moving your company towards “green.”

Indeed, many successful remodeling firms are finding ways to incorporate “green” into their projects — and thereby getting more green ($) into their pockets.  Customers perceive that green remodeling is quality remodeling and are willing to pay top dollar for it.

Unfortunately, with this rush to “go green” some other, less trendy but equally important, building issues are sometimes overlooked. Forgotten are basic building-science principles that will govern the comfort, health, durability, and efficiency of this house for many years to come.

This is how approaching a remodeling project with performance considerations can enhance your green projects!   Increasing a home’s performance starts with understanding how the home is currently performing with regard to safety, energy, and comfort before starting your remodeling project-by performing a series of comprehensive whole-house diagnostics that set the roadmap for improving their home’s performance.  Energy efficiency is the first step toward green – for you, your customer and our environment. 

By approaching a remodeling job as an opportunity to increase the home’s performance, remodelers can increase their work scopes, as well as their profit margins.  Including home performance with your remodeling will deliver a project that exceeds your customer’s expectations — and exceeding expectations is always a good business practice. 

When one of your remodeling projects increases a home’s energy efficiency, it helps everyone because it makes the most of our nation’s energy resources and it reduces emissions of greenhouse gases.   Once a customer understands that concept, that new energy-efficient lighting system or bamboo floor becomes even more appealing.  Not only does it look and feel good, the customer knows that he or she has made a clear statement about their concern for the environment and for well-being of future generations of Americans.

A home-performance installation project not only ensures high standards of comfort, durability, safety, and efficiency, it aligns with the personal values of the customer.  Everyone wins.

With rising energy bills and the newly available Federal tax credits for energy efficiency and renewable energy, home owners are looking for ways to join the green trend.  When they add square footage or a new bathroom to their home, they also want to improve its energy efficiency.

At the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we hear from remodelers from all across the country who are making money and making a difference by using home-performance principles to guide their remodeling projects.   We work with organizations around the country that assist remodelers and other contractors who promote the local “Home Performance with ENERGY STAR” programs (www.energystar.gov/homeperformance).

We have countless success stories from remodelers and HVAC contractors who have diagnosed a home’s performance and made recommendations based on a whole-house assessment.  We hear from remodelers who are justifiably proud of their remodeling work because they are confident that the homes will be comfortable and use less energy — not only today but for years to come.

Be part of the next big thing in home remodeling.  Contact us to learn more about how to get involved with home performance contracting. (patricia_plympton@nrel.gov, vonschrader.chandler@epa.gov) [ return to top ]